Standouts include the gorgeous The Festival of Colors picture reserve and the diachronic chapter record Ahimsa. But they ’ re all perplex. These books will help kids memorize and appreciate what makes India unique .
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Children’s Picture Books About India and Indian Culture
India Treasure Quest (Tiny Travelers) A Search and Find Book by Steven Wolfe Pereira and Susie Jaramillo
This raw Tiny Travelers India board book transports little readers to India. See the sights, teach words, and search for objects in the illustrations. It ’ s a colorful, ebullient cultural journey featuring Bollywood, the jungles of Ranthambore, the jump Holi festival, the sport of cricket, and a lot more. This richly illustrated, engaging look at a world region and culture encourages young readers to see things from a global perspective. absolutely fantastic.
Festival of Colors by Kabir Sehgal and Surishtha Sehgal, illustrated by Vashti Harrison
Captivating illustrations and wonderful storytelling. Use this picture book to teach colors and the Indian holiday of Holi. Two siblings gather flowers for the upcoming festival of color, Holi. Each two-page spread is a different flower and color. “They gather irises, because irises make BLUE.” When the flowers are gathered, they’re dried, and pressed into fine powders of color. Then, the family and friends gather together where they throw the brilliant colored powders into the air and onto each other. by Kabir Sehgal and Surishtha Sehgal, illustrated by Vashti HarrisonCaptivating illustrations and fantastic storytelling. Use this picture book to teach colors and the indian vacation of Holi.Each two-page diffuse is a unlike flower and semblance. “ They gather irises, because irises make BLUE. ” When the flowers are gathered, they ’ re dried, and pressed into fine powders of color. then, the family and friends meet together where they throw the bright colored powders into the air and onto each other. 
Binny’s Diwali by Thrity Umrigar, illustrated by Nidhi Chanani
Today, Binny gets to share with her classmates about the vacation, Diwali. At beginning, she ’ s skittish, then she finds the words to explain about the Festival of Lights and its colored fireworks, colorful powdered chalk, the reasonably mud lamps, and sweet foods. She shares the sweets with the class. When the day is done, she celebrates her own victory of good and light. This lovely, relatable story of shyness to bravery teaches children about an important Hindu holiday.
My Diwali Light by Raakhee Mirchandani, illustrated by Supriya Kelkar
A fiddling girl shares how she celebrates Diwali starting with picking out her equip and continuing with all the other gay activities such as visiting friends, eating good food, socializing with guests and neighbors, and saying prayers before bedtime. It’s a gentle, atmospheric look at the Diwali celebration.
Where Three Oceans Meet by Rajani Larocca, illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan
A daughter named Sejal and her ma visit Pati ( grandma ) in India where they eat delicious food, visit rivers, temples, and the oceans, and enjoy a fantastic time together, flush when the little daughter gets vomit for a sidereal day. It ’ randomness a memorable exploration of India and the thread of generational connection.
Jyot visits her beloved Sita Pati in India. The language difference isn’t a problem; they play games, make art, buy food, and eat meals. Instead of goodbye, Jyoti says, “I’ll go and come back.” Later, Sita Pati visits Jyoti in the U.S. and they play games, make art, buy food, and eat meals. Filled with culture and love, this is a sweet story about a loving grandparent-grandchild relationship that bridges countries and languages.
I’ll Go and Come Back by Rajani LaRocca, illustrated by Sara PalaciosJyot visits her beloved Sita Pati in India. The language difference isn’t a problem; they play games, make art, buy food, and eat meals. Instead of goodbye, Jyoti says, “I’ll go and come back.” Later, Sita Pati visits Jyoti in the U.S. and they play games, make art, buy food, and eat meals.
The Diwali Gift by Shweta Chopra and Shuchi Mehta, illustrated by Anna Koan
Diwali is a very important celebration in India. Adorable, playful illustrations tell a charming story of three monkey friends who get a mysterious Diwali present. The grandmother who gave the gift also gives the friends clues. They try to guess what might be inside by using the clues and recalling all their favorite parts of the holiday celebration. What will it be? This is a lovely introduction to the Diwali holiday. by Shweta Chopra and Shuchi Mehta, illustrated by Anna KoanDiwali is a very crucial celebration in India.The grandma who gave the giving besides gives the friends clues. They try to guess what might be inside by using the clues and recalling all their favorite parts of the vacation celebration. What will it be ? This is a cover girl initiation to the Diwali holiday .
With lovely storytelling, this picture book is filled with rich sensory images and gorgeous illustrations of a little girl thinking of family memories and stories while exploring her Nanu’s katha chest. For each treasured katha, she thinks of her family members and their lives. “A thick white streak runs across another quilt like the white saris Choto Khala has worn since Khalu died. Asiya imagines it is the road to the village where Choto Khala still lives.“
The Katha Chest by Radhiah Chowdhury, illustrated by Lavanya NaiduWith lovely storytelling, this picture book is filled with rich sensory images and gorgeous illustrations ofFor each treasured katha, she thinks of her family members and their lives. “A thick white streak runs across another quilt like the white saris Choto Khala has worn since Khalu died. Asiya imagines it is the road to the village where Choto Khala still lives.“
Learn to count from one to ten in Hindi. Beautiful illustrations show nouns that represent the holiday of Diwali and the number of fingers for the number shown. For example, “7 SAAT seven Phool maala flower garlands” shows hands with seven fingers marked in red and a lovely illustration of flower garlands. A wonderful book to introduce Indian culture and language.
Counting to Diwali: A Celebration in Numbers by S. C. Baheti, illustrated by Rohen DahotreLearn to count from one to ten in Hindi.and the number of fingers for the number shown. For example, “7 SAAT seven Phool maala flower garlands” shows hands with seven fingers marked in red and a lovely illustration of flower garlands. A wonderful book to introduce Indian culture and language. 
Priya Dreams of Marigolds and Masala by Meenal Patel
When Priya helps her Babi Ba cook rotli, her Babi Ba shares her memories of India … the smell of roasted cumin and masala, the audio of motorbikes whizzing by, the taste of a steaming cup of cha, the feel of the hot sun on your confront, views of arches and domes of the buildings, rainbow of sari, and brilliantly colored marigolds. late, Priya makes her Babi Ba paper orange marigolds for their doorway in the U.S. to remind her. I adore the writing, the illustrations, and the floor that celebrate India ’ second polish angstrom good as a close grandparent-grandchild relationship .
A Gift for Amma: Market Day in India by Meera Sriram, illustrated by Mariona Cabassa
A little girl excitedly explores the grocery store to find her Amma a endowment. She notices the colors — orange saffron and marigolds, white jasmine and goats, pink lotus flowers and sweets…I love how many senses the generator engages from sights to sounds and tastes and smells. “ Tumeric yellow like fair weather dust, Plenty of powdery spice at home. A chicken jinrikisha pedals by — Ding-a-ling ! I scoot to the side. ” Beautiful illustrations perfectly illuminate the celebration of the market ’ mho colors and the girl ’ south agitation .
Bilal Cooks Daal by Aisha Saeed, illustrated by Anoosha Syed
Bilal tells his friends all about daal. together, they carefully prepare the ingredients, then wait as the flavors mix together. While they ’ ra expect, they play outside. finally, the daal is ready for more ingredients and the best share of all — eating ! This floor makes me want to eat daal, excessively — it ’ s a lovely introduction to this savory lentil dish from South Asia as well as a warm-hearted example of sharing traditional foods with friends from other cultures. Wonderful!
Hair Twins by Raakhee Mirchandani, illustrated by Holly Hatam
The loving little girl’s Papa combs her hair every morning. Sometimes he braids it. sometimes he puts it in a top bun merely like the joora he wears under his turban. “ Hair cheers ! ” the little female child tells her Papa, her hair match. After school, Papa takes her haircloth down. then, they have dance parties and go to the park where they play with friends. You’ll love their sweet father-daughter relationship and the Sikh representation.
The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh by Supriya Kelkar, illustrated by Alea Marley
A relatable story about feelings, moving homes and finding a friend. Harpreet loves colors and expresses his feelings with the colors of his patka which are a kind of pillbox that he wears each day. One of the best children ’ randomness picture books of 2019, this beautiful reserve includes some much-needed representation and addresses the importance of talking about feelings .
Anni Dreams of Biryani by Namita Moolani Mehra, illustrated by Chaaya Prabhat
Anni enters a determined quest to find the ingredients to make the best biryani just like Uncle makes in the cafe across the street. This is a delicious story filled with dreams, polish, doggedness, and food .
A loving family shares a favorite cultural sweet treat and practices counting and subtracting in this beautifully written, Indian-flavored math story! Mama makes 10 gulab jamuns for guests. But, one child eats three. Now there are only 7 for the guests. And another child eats 3 more. Now there are only 4 left. Mamma wonders how she will have time to make more treats for her guests. The kids will help her make them! “That afternoon, Idu and Adu didn’t go to the backyard to play. They helped Mamma and Daddy make 10 more gulab jamuns instead.“10 Gulab Jamuns: Counting with an Indian Sweet Treat by Sandhya Acharya, illustrated by Vanessa AlexandreMama makes 10 gulab jamuns for guests. But, one child eats three. Now there are only 7 for the guests. And another child eats 3 more. Now there are only 4 left. Mamma wonders how she will have time to make more treats for her guests. The kids will help her make them! “That afternoon, Idu and Adu didn’t go to the backyard to play. They helped Mamma and Daddy make 10 more gulab jamuns instead.“
Little Sid: The Tiny Prince Who Became Buddha by Ian Lendler, illustrated by Xanthe Bouma by Ian Lendler, illustrated by Xanthe Bouma Sid starts out liveliness as a rape prince whose parents catered to his every indigence. But he isn ’ thyroxine glad. indeed Sid leaves his palace to look for Happiness. After he about dies, things change. Sid changes. He no longer wants material things ; he wants just to be. Pastels and browns, dialogue bubbles, and accessible text make this a winning introduction to the boy who became Buddha. ( Siddhartha was born in Nepal but I ’ meter including this picture ledger hera as it however carries diachronic significance in the area. )
Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth by Sanjay Patel and Emily Haynes
In this gorgeously illustrate Hindu myth, the elephant deity Ganesha breaks his tusk eating sugarcoat. He ’ s so delirious that he throws his tusk at the moon. But, it doesn ’ thyroxine land on the moon. It lands on the poet Vyasa who asks Ganesha to use his tusk to scribe an epic poem Sanskrit poem. I love the story but I really love the patterns, colors, and designs throughout. Incredible!
Wheels on the Tuk Tuk by Kabir Sehgal and Surishtha Sehgal, illustrated by Jess Golden
What a fun version of “The Wheels on the Bus” song. This one is set aboard a three-wheel tuk tuk taxi in India. You ’ ll pay with rupees, blockage for a moo-moo-cow, and eat poppa-doppa-doms .. all through the town. I love how this creates an atmosphere of sounds and sights that you ’ d meeting in India .
A Bucket of Blessings by Kabir Sehgal and Surishtha Sehgal, illustrated by Jing Jing Tsong
It hasn’t rained where Monkey lives. He remembers a story his mama told him about peacocks dancing to make rain so he searches for Peacock. Peacock tells Monkey he needs urine. Monkey gets the urine and brings it in a bucket to Peacock. Along the way, the bucket ’ sulfur hole drips water on the grind — which initially seems like a frightful failure until the farming begins to bloom. Plus, Peacock uses the few drops left to dance and bring rain to the land. Gorgeous patterned illustrations throughout.
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Archie Celebrates Diwali by Mitali Banerjee Ruths, illustrated by Parwinder Singh
Archie hosts a Diwali party but worries her ally will think it is boring or weird but tied with a storm and exponent outages, Archie ’ randomness friends dance, feed, and enjoy the holiday celebration .
The Elephant’s Friend and Other Tales from Ancient India recite by Marcia Williams
This collection of tales from India is depicted in cartoons of rich magenta, amethyst, and reds. Animals talk and people learn valuable lessons in this Indian version of Aesop’s Fables.
Elephant in the Dark based on a poem by Rumi, retold by Mina Javaherbin, illustrated by Eugene Yelchin You ’ ll remember this famous story about perspective, it ’ second often used in the classroom and corporate aim. In this cover girl word picture reserve adaptation, a merchant arrives with a mysterious animal which he puts into a barn. The villagers are anxious to figure out what it is therefore they each crawl into the dark barn and feel region of the beast. One thinks it ’ s a like a snake, the other thinks it ’ s like a fan, another things it ’ s like a tree trunk, and so on. But no one listens to the others. The following day, the merchant leads the beautiful elephant out of the barn but no one noticed or saw the truth because they were excessively busy fighting. What a great lesson ! Rumi was a irani poet but I ’ megabyte including it hera since elephants are besides part of the indian polish .
Indian Tales: A Barefoot Collection by Shenaaz Nanji and Christopher Corr
Storytelling and oral tradition are significant in India. This colorfully illustrated book of Indian stories shares information about different regional areas in India plus notable cultural elements. For exemplar, in the Gujarat incision, you ’ ll learn about many important festivals by Divaali and Holi. The regions each contain a hypnotic folktale filled with distinctive cultural elements and mythology .
The Secret Kingdom: Nek Chand, a Changing India and a Hidden World of Art by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Claire A. Nivola
“ Season by temper, Nek ’ mho head filled with stories, until it overflowed. ” Nek’s world is filled with stories and the richness of life in India. Until Punjab splits into two –Pakistan and India. Nek, being a Hindu, is forced to flee from his home to the new India. But his newly land doesn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate speak to him. not until he finds a hidden wilderness. even though it is illegal, he lives in his newly spot, softly building a secret kingdom of plants, alloy, concrete, break dance glass, and pebbles. When the government discovers it, they want to tear it down. But they don ’ metric ton because the indian people love his secret kingdom besides much. They help him keep his art and stories alive. The back contains actual illustrations of this incredible real place. This is an inspiring fib of an artist with dedication and vision !
Chapter Books About India, Indian Culture, and Indian Mythology (Ages 8 – 12)
Thirst by Varsha Bajaj
Set in Mumbi, this is a deftly narrated, hope-filled story of the inequities around water with themes of advocacy, education, and community. 12-year-old Minni ’ s residential district has access to water system alone a few hours per day with hard water system shortages. When Minni is forced to leave school to work as a maid, she sees the water ( and other ) iniquity first-hand and discovers that the family ’ mho dad is the water system mafia bos. Her decision and legal action to report him makes a difference — and gives us hope that one person can make a dispute .
The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman
Set in India, Viji her sister ran away from an abusive don and ghastly mother to the big city where they meet two friendly brothers and live with them under a bridge, scrabbling to survive by collecting trash. Their days are hard and a bad trash man finds their home so the four kids scat to a mosquito-filled cemetery filled. not long after, Rukku gets a severe cough and fever. What happens following will about destroy Viji. She wonders how prayers and religion can coexist with misery and pain. ultimately, it is the kindness of her new class that helps her interpret more in the future than misery. It’s an honest, eye-opening story that reveals the plight of many homeless children in India and yet, finds a way to be hopeful, too.
Strong as Fire, Fierce As Flame by Supriya Kelkar
Don’t miss this powerful story set in colonial India about a girl finding her voice and inner strength. Meera ’ s dad holds fast to his beliefs that if her conserve dies, so she must besides die. She ’ s merely twelve and inactive lives at home but just as she ’ s about to live with her conserve ( who she married as a child ), her husband dies ! now her father expects Meera to join her husband ’ south funeral pyre. She doesn ’ metric ton survive. Her aunt gives her the courage to flee. But as she ’ sulfur get off, she ’ randomness captured by a british captain and assigned to work in his kitchen where she witnesses firsthand the institutional racism and cruelty to her people. initially, Meera is afraid but she learns that she can not look the other way and fights back by helping the resistance .
Born Behind Bars by Padma Venkatraman
Kabir is besides old to continue living in jail with his ma who was unjustly imprisoned. He ’ randomness forced to leave the imprison without his ma and cursorily realizes that his alleged uncle is trying to sell him into bondage. Kabir runs away and meets a worldly-wise girl named Rani who helps him survive the streets. together, the two travel to another city where they hope Kabir ’ s grandparents live and where Kabir and Rani find kindness and second base chances. This powerful story illuminates the problem of homelessness and the justice system in India, yet gives readers hope in human kindness and the possibilities of change. I honestly felt like crying with joy during the last third gear of the script — it so emotionally resonate .
The Serpent’s Secret ( Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond #1) by Sayantani Dasgupta
“ I was done for — abandoned by my parents, covered in rakkosh snot, and about to be eaten. This was the worst birthday always ! ” Kiranmala discovers on her 12th birthday that she’s a princess from another realm and her parents are trapped in a black hole-type place. But there ’ s a batch more she ’ ll learn — like who her substantial parents are ( yikes ! ) and that demons can be your friends. The prince ’ randomness monster grandma, Ai-Ma, is my favored character. She says things like “ Be good, sweet beetle-dung toadstools. ” Okay, Kiranmala ’ mho parents are super amazing, besides. You ’ ll beloved every second of this entertain, indian mythology adventure .
The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani
Written in a diary as letters to her Mama, Nisha shares how her life is turned upside down when the British rule of India ends in 1947, splitting the country into two — the Muslim north where she lives becomes Pakistan and the Hindu south remains India. evening though Nisha ’ s ma was Muslim, Nisha, her buddy, her repair Papa and her grandma are forced to leave their home in the north because they are Hindu. There ’ randomness violence everywhere ; nowhere is dependable, not even the trains. It ’ s a agonizing journey and a confuse time. This history, filled with historic significance, is masterfully told. You won ’ thyroxine want to put this one down .
Ahimsa by Supriya Kelkar not only did I learn a draw about indian history during the fourth dimension of Gandhi, I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this incredible, passion-filled record. Anjali’s parents join the Indian freedom movement against the British government. Through her parents, Anjali begins to see her world differently including the destitute caste of many people call “ the Untouchables ”. other indian families do not like the changes her family is making. then, Anjali ’ south ma is thrown in imprison ! I couldn ’ metric ton put this book down .
Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani Pashmina is about a daughter finding her station in the populace. She travels to India to meet her extended family and finds answers about the magical shawl her mother owns. This is a lovely coming of old age middle-grade graphic novel conveyed in incredible, irresistible art .
Aru Sha and the End of Time: A Pandava Novel Book 1 by Roshani Chokshi
I found this a difficult book to read for two reasons. First, I dididn’t love the main character who constantly lied. Second, I probably needed more background knowledge in the Hindu religion/mythology because I struggled to follow the many god and goddess characters. It just got confusing. That being said, maybe you’ll find this book more appealing than me, many people do. by Roshani Chokshifor two reasons. First, I dididn ’ triiodothyronine love the main character who constantly lied. Second, I probably needed more background cognition in the Hindu religion/mythology because I struggled to follow the many god and goddess characters. It good got confusing. That being said, possibly you ’ ll find this book more sympathetic than me, many people do.
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